The Armed Criminal Group (Indonesian: Kelompok Kriminal Bersenjata; abbreviated as KKB), also known as the West Papua Liberation Army (Indonesian: Tentara Pembebasan Nasional Papua Barat; abbreviated as TPNPB), is a Western New Guinean rebel group in Indonesia. It is the Free Papua Organization’s military branch.
Papua Liberation Army Military Strategies
The TPNPB rejects Indonesian-led development using guerrilla methods to target and demolish industrial sites. In these and other attacks, they employ limited quantities of revolvers, rifles, axes, machetes, bows, and arrows.
The History
The West Papua National Council for Papua Liberation Army attempted to join the Melanesian Spearhead Group in October 2013 but was denied (MSG). Indonesia had already given Papua (province) and West Papua observer status in 2011. (province). For any future applications to be considered, the MSG first encouraged the West Papua independence organizations to unify.
- The United Liberation Movement for West Papua in Vanuatu, a single umbrella organization, unites all West Papuan independence movement factions as of December 2014.
- According to Benny Wenda, Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa reportedly expressed disbelief that West Papua was still not free in February 2015. The Bishop requested a review of the Act of Free Choice by the UN in 2004.
- The ULMWP was given MSG observer status in June 2015 to represent West Papuans living outside the nation, and Indonesia was promoted to associate member.
- The Prime Ministers of Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu, along with the Presidents of Nauru and the Marshall Islands, demanded UN action on alleged human rights violations against West Papua’s indigenous Melanesians at the 71st session of the UN General Assembly in September 2016.
Indonesia has been charged with violating human rights due to its quest for independence by the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. Initiating an early warning and urgent action procedure, the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination asked Indonesia to react to racial violence claims in West Papua formally.
International Separatist Organizations
Some West Papuan independence activists have established groups overseas in addition to the existing local ones and won the backing of numerous political parties. They are starting Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand, three nations that make up the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).
These nations view the globalization of the Free West Papua problem as an easy commodity that can be utilized for a variety of purposes, most notably political and economic ones. One West Papuan separatist group, the Papua Liberation Army, is more loud and successful in gaining support than others (ULMWP).
West Papua Free Groups’ Disputes
The Free Papua movement was commonly claimed to speak for the Papuan people. However, the groups within the movement were unable to communicate with one another. Some factions have been claiming betrayal of the movement against one another. Shouldn’t the same person command these Free Papua factions if they truly fight for the Papuans? However, each organization has progressively revealed its true identity behind the fiction of the Free Papua myths.
The ULMWP formerly accused the OPM-TPNPB of being a bogus organization created by the Indonesian army and receiving funding from the government. According to the ULMWP, the newly formed WPA is the sole authorized military wing of West Papua.
That is but one of many disagreements between the various Free Papua factions. How would West Papua be affected if one of these organizations took over the area? The Papuans could become caught up in their argument or, worse, in their petty conflict. Then, will the Papuan people ever prosper?
Wrapping Up
Separatist organizations continue to use the racism problem in West Papua to push for a referendum and Papuan independence. The Free West Papua Movement asserts that it defends the rights of the Papuans. But it is now well known that the separatist movement in any nation is seldom a pure conflict and almost always has another, more important goal concealed beneath it. The Free West Papua Liberation Army, what about it? Is it true that this movement sprang from the ambitions of the Papuan people, or are other interests at stake?
